Machine for operating upon hides, skins, leather, and other similar pieces of works



Dec. 5, 1933. J H CONNOR 1,938,278

MACHINE FOR OPERATING UPON HIDEJS, SKINS, LEATHERS,

AND OTHER SIMILAR PIECES OF WORK Filed Feb. 17, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet lDec. 5, CONNOR MACHINE FOR OPERATING UPON HIDES, SKINS, LEATHERS ANDOTHER SIMILAR PIECES OF WORK Filed Feb. 2 Sheets-Sheet 2-mriiizai'liilma'ian Patented Dec. 5, 1933 DIACHINE FOB, GEERATENG UPONHEDES, SKINS, LEATHER, AND GTHER SHVIILAR PIECES OF WORK John H. Connor,Newton, Mass.

Application February 17,

38 Claims.

This invention relates to machines for treating hides, skins, leatherand other similar pieces of work. While the invention is illustratedwith reference to a machine for putting-out hides,

5] skins or pieces of leather it is to understood that the invention andvarious important features thereof may have other applications and uses,such, for instance, as in unhairing, fieshing, ironing, glazing,brushing and polishing operations.

In putting-out operations upon hides, skin or pieces of leather, aconsiderable portion of the watery content of the piece of work isremoved and, at the same ti1ne,-an attempt is made to stretch the workout in one or more directions, and to efface folds and wrinkles as in.ch as pos sible. Objects of this invention are to increase theefficiency of putting-out operations in the removal of the waterycontent of hides, skins and pieces of l ather so that a largerproportion of said watery content may berernoved in a shorter period oftime and with greater uniformity, than heretofore, in the resultsattained throughout the whole area of the piece of work. An object ofgreater importance is that directed to the spreading and stretching-outof a hide or skin in all directions from a central portion thereof in amore 'efiicient manner. Heretofore, the spreadingout of a hide or skinin all dir ctio s from a central portion thereof has been accot; plishedmore efficiently by hand than by any the machines provided for thepurpose. Further objects of the invention are to increase both thequality and the quantity of the output in a given of time.

To these ends means is provided, in a machine for operating upon hides,skins and leather, for

beginning putting-out treatm nt at a central por-' tion of a piece ofwork and continuing the treatment, simultaneously in all directions,laterally of central portion whereby the watery con tent removed fromsaid central portion first and then successively from other portions upto and including the marginal portions of the piece of work. Theputting-out means is operative also to secure the desired stretching outof the piece of work in all directions from the central portion thereofsimultaneously with the putting-out operation. Preferably and as shown,the said means comprises a spirally formed tool having at least onesubstantially complete turn to the spiral, mounted for rotation about agiven axis, and arranged for co-operation with work suppo ting meansadapted to present a piece of work to the spirally formed tool. Convenintly, the work sup- 1931. Serial No. 516,384

porting surface is so cons noted as to present a central portion of thework first t0 the tool. After an interval, which may be predetermined orleft to the judgment of the operator, the operation of the tool isextended beyond said central portion of the piece or" work and the wholework supporting surface becomes effective to support and prcsert thework in a single plane against the 1 of the spirally formed tool. Inorder that the inner end of the spirally formed tool may have aputting-out and stretching effect on that por tion of the work locatedbelow the center of the spiral, the said spirally formed tool is mountedeccentrically with respect to the axis of its operating shaft.Furthermore, by reason of this eccentrio mounting of the spirally formedtool it has a sicewise movement with respect to the Work, said ewisemovement being continuously and progressively transferred around theperiphery of the spirally formed tool during rotation of the 7 latter,the described lateral movement having the effect of incr asing thelateral movement of any given portion of the spirally formed tool whichthe latter possesses because of rotation about its operating shaft. 80

During treatment of a hide or skin spread out upon a work supportingsurface, any selected portion of the spirally arranged tool will have,due to the rotation of the tool about the axis 01 its operating shaft, alateral component of move- 8 ment as well as a movement in the directionof rotation of the spiral about the axis of said shaft. The lateralmovement just mentioned is not very considerable since the pitch of thespiral is relatively small in the illustrated machine. Because of therelatively high speed of rotation, however, the selected portion of thetool does eifect a putting-out of moisture from the hide or skin and astretching of the treated portion of the hide or skin in a directionaway from said center of rotation. Since the greater part of themovement of said selected portion of the tool is in the direction ofrotation of the spiral there is a distinct tendency to displace the hideor skin by carrying it along over the work support in the direction ofrotation of the spiral. This tendency is apt to manifest itself mostclearly in the shank portions by the formation of pleats or folds oreven by lateral displacement of said shank portions in the direction ofrotation of the spiral. 105 However, by moving the whole spiral in acircle in a direction the reverse of the direction of rotation of thespiral this tendency to displacement is overcome since the movement oftranslation of the tool gives it a relatively wide sweeping movementover the piece of work in a direction to neutralize the drawing actionof the tool along its line of rotation. At the same time, this markedmovement of the spiral tool in a lateral direction, i. e., in adirection away from the center of the piece of work, contributes greatlyto the good results obtained in putting-out the watery content of thehide or skin and working it out into an extended'condition. This workingout and putting-out movement takes place the more effectively the nearerthe speeds of rotation and of translation of the bladed tool approacheach other. Actual displacement of the watery portions of the hide orskin from the hide or skin is accomplished largely through thecentrifugal efiect of the rapidly rotating spiral after the waterycontent has been brought to the surface through the scraping andstretching effect of the lateral movements of the spiral tool on thepiece of work. During rotation of the disk which carries the spirallyformed tool and its travel bodily in a circular path, any selectedportion of the spirally formed tool is caused to move in lateraldirections over the piece of work, the direction of lateral movementbeing continuously and progressively changed so that the piece of workis put-out and spread-out laterally, i. e., away from a central portionof the work, in all directions simultaneously beginning with a givencentralportion of the piece of work and extending to the extrememarginal portion of said piece of Work.

For presenting the work to the spirally formed tool or blade, there isprovided, as already stated, a work supporting member. This worksupporting member comprises a table having a plane surface, a centralportion of which may be projected initially in a direction towardthespirally formed tool or blade so that a central portion of a piece ofwork on the table will be operated upon first to begin spreading andputting-out operations upon said central portion of the piece of work.After a brief period the middle portion of the Work support returns tothe same level as the rest of the work support so that all portions ofthe Work are supported at the same level to take the thrust of thebladed tool, whereby all portions of the work may receive substantiallythe same Working pressure during the completion of the putting-out andstretching operations. I

In order to secure the described presentation of the middle portion ofthe work first to the spirally formed tool, there is provided in oneembodiment of the invention a table or work support having a centralcircular member as an auxiliary work support separately mounted so thatit may be projected toward the spirally formed tool or blade at thebeginning of a given operation. Preferably and as shown, this centralcircular member of the table is backed by a spring of a strength tosupport said central circular member of the table against apredetermined amount of pressure exerted by the spirally formed tool,the arrangement being such that said central circular member will moveunder pressure of the tool back to a position where its work supportingsurface is in the same plane with the rest of the table whereby allportions of the work are supported at the same level to take the thrustof the bladed tool.

While in most cases it is desirable to press a given central portion ofthe work more firmly against the spirally arranged tool, as, forinstance, by means of the spring pressed circular member described inthe preceding paragraph, it

is preferable in other cases to provide for removal of such pressureafter a predetermined amount of treatment so that all portions of thework will receive substantially the same pressure during subsequenttreatment. For this purpose the illustrated machine may embody means forretracting the central presser member of the work support relatively tothe rest of the work support and against the tension of its operatingspring, the said means comprising also a latching means for holding thecentral presser member in such a position that its work supportingsurface is in the same plane as the work supporting surface of the restof the work support. Conveniently, this latching means is automaticallyoperated during the ascent of the work support to work presentingposition. Preferably, however, the latching means is under the controlof the operator so that it may be released after a fresh piece of workhas been inserted into the machine. It is contemplated also that saidlatching means will be used to keep the central work supporting memberalways in the plane of the work support asv a whole in those cases whereit is not desirable to apply more pressure to one part of the work thanto another portion thereof.

In place of the central circular member, it is contemplated to provide atable or other work support having a substantially continuous worksupporting surface formed in part by a pad which may be eitherpneumatically or hydraulically distended at the beginning of a worktreating operation. This initial distension of the pad serves to presenta given portion of the work first to the bladed tool, the constructionand arrange ment being such that, after a predetermined interval, thepad gradually returns to a flattened condition whereby the field ofoperation of the bladed tool is gradually extended from a centralportion outwardly in all directions toward marginal portions of thework, the pad upon complete collapse being so disposed that it presents,together with the rest of the work support or table, a work supportingsurface all in a single plane whereby all portions of the work arefinally subjected to the same degree of pressure exerted by the thrustof the bladed tool.

To facilitate operation upon a given piece of work with uniform pressureover the whole of the work, the said work support or table may bemounted so that it may be self-adjusting or selfalining with respect tothe plane of the operating edge of the spirally formed tool or blade.Conveniently, the table has a downwardly facing convexly curved surfaceadapted to fit within a complementally curved concave supporting surfacewhereby the table is readily tiltable to effect the describedself-alining action. It is contemplated to provide also adjustablealining members by which the table may be first adjusted and then fixedin the desired plane with respect to the plane of the operating edge ofthe spirally formed tool or blade.

Since the operating edge of the spirally formed tool or blade is in asingle plane, a piece of work which has been put out upon a work supportin the operation of said tool is spread out in its fully extendedcondition in a single plane. In order that this piece of Work may bereadily treated while it is maintained in its fully extended 15.5

condition, each piece of work will be presented to the putting-outmachine while supported upon a portable backing of flexible material sothat the backing may conform to the desired degree with the centralraised portion of the. machine work support or table. In this way, afterthe putting-out operation, the piece of work with its backing may beremoved as a unit and the work submitted to treatment at one or morestations while still spread out upon its backing as it left theputting-out machine.

These and other features of the invention will now be described indetail and then pointed out more particularly in the appended claims.

Inthe drawings,

Fig. 1 is a view in side elevation and partly in section of a machineshowing one embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line II-II of Fig. 1, lookingin the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 3 is a View s spirally bladed member of Fig. 2 189;

Fig. 4; is a View similar to the sectioned portion of Fig. 1 showing amodification of the work support;

Fig. 5 is a view similar to the sectioned portion of Fig. l but showingmeans for alining the work support with respect to the operating surfaceof the spirall arranged tool; and

6 is a view similar to Fig. 4 but disclosing a pneumatic pad operativeas a con presenting member.

In the drawin s which disclose a machine particularly adapted to puting-out and stretclL'ng operations upon hides, skins and pieces ofleather there is provided a work support 10 mounted for movement in avertical direction upon a portion of the frame 12. For this purpose thetable 10 may have secured thereto a hub 14 slidable within acorrespondin ly shaped socket in the frame 12. For moving the table 10there is provided in the illustrated construction a treadl'e 16 pivotedat 18 upon the machine frame and having a connection with the tablethrough a pair of links 20 pivoted to the treadle 16 and to the worksupport 10. While treadle means is shown for operating the work support,the provision of suitable power means for the purpose is contemplated.

While the upper surface of the work support 10 may, in certain cases, beso constructed as to provide a work supporting surface all in one plane,preferably and as shown, a portion of the work support is project-ableabove the plane of the remaining portion. This projectable portion is anauxiliary work support conveniently constructed as circular member 32set in a correspondingly shaped opening in the central portion of thetable 10 and having a shank portion 3a rigid with said circular member32. As shown, the shank member 84 extends downwardly through the boredout hub member 14 integral with the under portion or" the table 10.Surrounding a lower portion of the shank member 34 is a sleeve 38 screwthreaded on its exterior surface for threaded engagement with aninteriorly screw threaded portion of the bore in the hub 14. Locatedbetween the sleeve 38 and the circular member 32 is a spring 40 whichsurrounds the upper portion of the shank 34. proper adjustment of thesleeve 38 the tension of the spring l0 may be readily varied, asdesired, a nut 42 being provided on the sleeve 38 for fixedly securingthe sleeve 38 in its adjusted position. For holding the circular member32 and its shank 34. within the sleeve 38 against the pressure of thespring 40 there is provided a couple of nuts 44 screw threaded upon thelower end of the shank 34, adjustment of the position of the circularmember 32with respect to the work support proper manipulation of thenuts 44. For limiting the downward movement of the circular member 32 sothat when fully depressed its upper surface will be in the same plane asthe work supporting surface of the work support 10, there is provided amember 46 threaded into a tapped opening in the support 10 below thecircular member 32.

Through selection and adjustment of the spring within a sixty-fourth ofan inch from the plane of the operating edge of the tool.

For treating a piece of work, such as a skin shown at 51, while it issupported upon the work 10 being accomplished through support 10 and thecircular member 32, there is provided a tool 50 which, in theillustrated construction, comprises a disk 52 provided on its undersurface with a spirally arranged member 54 (Fi s. 1 to 6, inclusive) thelatter being in fact the real work treating member. As shown, the worktreating portions of the spirally arranged member 54 are all in oneplane. In a machine designed for putting-out operations the spirallyarranged member 54 is formed as a blade member having an edge portioneffective to put-out the watery content of hides and skins and tostretch such hides or skins simultaneously with the putting-out of thewatery content thereof. Since it is not practical or desirable to extendthe inner end of the spirally arranged blade clear to the axis ofrotation of the spiral, because of the acute bending of the b ade whichwou e neces- M c sary under such circumstances, and because of the closequarters wherein the watery content of the hide or skin would be more orless imprisoned during the operation of the tool, there would normallybe a small circular space surrounding the axis of the spirally bladedmember untreated if said In mber were rotated about its axis. For thisreason the spirally bladed memher is mounted eccentrically with respectto the axis of its operating shaft 56 so that no portion of the work isleft untreated at the center of the spiral.

As shown most clearly in Fig. l the shaft 56 is pinnedto the disk 52 andis rotated by power means which will subsequently be described herein.In addition to the power means for causing rotation of the shaft 56there provided means for moving the spirally arranged tool 54 and itsoperating shaft 55 bodily in a circular path so that the spirallyarranged tool so has movements over the work quite independent of themovement obtained through rotation of the spirally arranged member byits shaft 56. In order to secure movement of the shaft 56 and the partsattached thereto in the circular path mentioned above, the shaft iseccentrically mounted in a block 60 which in turn is mounted forrotation in a bearing 62 furnished by an extension 64 on the frame 12 ofthe machine. Secured to the upper end of the block so is a bevel gear 66having sixty-one teeth, a peripheral portion of the lower surface of thebevel gear resting upon an upwardly facing smooth surface on the journalmember 62. Resting on the upper face of the gear 66 inside of theperiphe "ally arranged bevel teeth is an anti-friction device 68 uponwhich rests a collar 70 secured to an upper end portion of the shaft 56.The anti-friction device 68 and the collar 70 support the shaft 56 andthe parts secured to th lower end of aid shaft 56 which parts includethe disk 52 and the spirally arranged tool 54-heretofore described, thesaid lower end of the shaft also supporting between the disk 52 and thedownwardly facing surface of the journal 62 a pair of anti-frictiondevices 72 and 74. As shown, the anti-"riotion device 72co-operates-with the bevel gear 66 in holding the block 60 in placevertically within the journal 62 While the anti-friction device 7co-operates with the anti-friction device 68 in holding the shaft 56 inproper vertical position within its bearings in the block 66 and bevelgear 66. Since the shaft 56 is mounted eccentrically within the block 60it is clear that upon rotation of the block-60 the shaft and the par sed thereby will be moved in a circular path (Figs. 2 and 3) about theaxis of the block 66 which lies in the line 76 which is also the centerline of the work treating parts of the machine. For driving the bevelgear 66 there is provided a bevel pinion 78 having 30 gear teeth fixedto a shaft 80 mounted in bearings upon the'machine frame. 7 t itsfreeend the shaft 89 carries fast and ,loose pulleys 82, 84, the arrangementbeing such that upon shifting a belt 86 to the fixed pulley 82 the shaft80 will be power driven through the belt 86 which receives its powerfrom any suitable source.

The means heretofore referred to for causing rotation of the shaft 56comprises conveniently a pulley 83 secured to the shaft having a belt 90arranged to be driven thereby. This belt 90 passes over an idle pulleyat 9'2 and thence to a pulley 94 at the upper end of a shaft 96journaled in a bearing 98 above t e 62. In order that the shaft 96 maycause rotation of the shaft 56, a universal joint connection 100 isprovided between the lower end of the shaft 96 and the upper end of theshaft versa l joint connection coin-prises pivoted at its upper end torock pins 104, 166 carried by the s 1 arranged at right angles to eachother, the member 102 being also pivoted to rock at its lower end abouttwo pi ot pins 108, 116 carried by the lower shaft 56.

In Figs. 2 and 3 of the drawings, a large arrow 120 indicates thedirection of rotation of the spirally arran ed member 54 while a arrow122 near the center of the spiral and on a small circle indicates thepath of movement of the axis of the shaft 56 in a small circle and indirection the reverse of that of the rotation of This unithe spiral, asindicated by the arrow 126. In these same figures, the line in ates t caxis of the shaft 56, whereas the li" center line of the spiral, b

licates the a its operating shaft 56 is ca al in ar ount Thedisplacement mentioned is v A three only in showing the spirallyarranged me-nber 54 at a different point in its rotation. This figureshows also that, whereas, the spirally arranged tool 54 has rotatedthrough 180 of a circle, the shaft 56 and the tool 54 carried therebyhave moved only through 96 of the small circle 123 and in the reversedirection. in other words, the speed of rotation of the shaft 56 istwice the speed of travel of the shaft 56 bodily in the path of thecircle 123. Here, again, in spec g the relative speed of movement of theshaft 56 in a circle and about its own axis it is not intended to limitthe invention in any way, it being quite possible that it be founddesirable n certain classes of operation upon hides, s and leather toprovide for equal speed of rotation and of translation of the shaft 56.On th otl 'iand, it may be found desirable to reduce tl" .-.peed oftranslation of the shaft 56 very consid :ably with respect to the speedof rotation of said shaft 56 as, for instance, in brushing operationsfor which a spirally arranged brush is substituted for the spirallyarranged blade 51 useful in putting-out operations upon hides skins andleather.

While in machine shovm in l the construction is such that the auxiliarywork supporting member 32 is acted upon by the spring so throughout thework t tin operation, it is desirable under certain c o stances to beable to remove the sure of the spring 20 substantially at the time a. atwork support 16 a whole reaches work pi enting position with respect tothe y arranged tool 54-. To this end there is provided, as shown in Fig.4, means for retracting the Wei-"l: pporting member 32 relatively to thework support 3.0 at a rate corresponding substantially to the rate ofmovement of the support 16 toward work presenting position with respectto the tool 54. As illustrated, this means comprises a stationaryabutment 130 which is perforated for the passage of the shank member 34of the supp rting member 32. Mounted upon lower portion of the shank menber 34 is a spring which constitutes in eifect a yielding abutment willhereinafter be described. Resting upo the s ring 132 is a washer 13 asimilar washer 536 it nishing a support for the spring 132 andadjustable nuts 138 being provided on the shank nber 3 for adjusting theposition of the spring 132 and its washers 134, 136. On depression of atree-ole 140, the work support 16 is moved upwardly through links 142which connect the treadle with t ie hub portion 14 of the'work support10. On upward movement of the work support 19, the central portion ofthe work is presented to the tool 54 by reason of the advanced positionof the circular work supporting inembe" The arrangement is preferablysuch that the work support 32 is depressed to a predetermined extent rcltlvely to the work support 10 by the piece of we k coi ring up againstthe tool 54 which unyielding in the vertical direction, in order toinsure that the work will be presented against the thrust of the toolwith a pressure sufiicient to s cure the desired operation on thecentral portion or" the work. Theretill after the work supporting member32 will be held against further independent upward movement throughengagement of the washer 134, backed by the spring 132, against thelower surface of the stationary abutment 130. The point at whicharresting of the member 32 by the spring 132 begins can be predeterminedby adjustment of the nuts 138. While the work support 10 continues toascend the circular work supporting member 32 is held stationary and isthus retracted relatively to the work support 10. Finally a latch 144,pivoted at 146 to a bracket carried by the hub 14 of the work support 10is moved inwardly by a spring 148 to engage the upper surface of acollar 150 secured to the shank member 34 whereby the shank member 34and the circular work supporting member 32 are locked relatively to thework support with the upper surface of the work supporting member 32 inthe same plane as the work supporting surface of the work support 10. Bythis arrangement all excess pressure upon the circular work supportingmember 32 is removed shortly after the presentation of the centralportion of the work to the tool 54, meaning by this that all portions ofthe work resting upon both the central work supporting member 32 and thework support 10 are presented to the tool 54 with the same pressure sofar as that may be determined by the plane surface of the two worksupporting members 10 and any inequalities in the thickness of the workbeing accommodated by a pad 149 which may be of felt or rubber or anyother suitable material yieldable to pressure. It is an object of thelatching arrangement just described that the latch 144 should maintainthe circular work supporting member 32 at the same level as the worksupport 10 during descent of these two work supporting members to workreceiving position where the piece of work just acted upon may beremoved and a fresh piece inserted, without any difficulty such as mightbe caused by an elevated position of the member 32 with respect to theupper surface of the table 10. After a piece of work has been introducedinto the machine while the work support 10 is in lowered position, theoperator may release the circular work supporting member 32 byretracting the latch 144 to inoperative position. This is convenientlyaccomplished by depressing an auxiliary treadle 152 which is pivotedupon the same fulcrum as the treadle 140 and which has an upwardlyextending arm 154 held by a spring 156 against a stop 158. Upondepression of the auxiliary treadle 152, the arm 154 is caused to engagea pin on the latch 144 to move the latter to the right into inoperativeposition against the tension of the spring 148. Upon unlatching of thecircular work supporting member 32, the latter is at once projectedupwardly by the spring 40 so that a central portion of the work ispresented first to the tool 54. It is altogether likely that, undercertain circumstances, the latch 144 will not be rendered inoperative atany time during the operation of the machine in which caseall portionsof the work will be presented at the same time to the tool 54 and willreceive treatment under the same conditions of pressure.

Under certain circumstances, and particularly where pieces of work haveeach a thin edge and a thick edge, it is desirable that the work support for presenting pieces of work to the tool 54 may be self-alining tosecure uniformity of pressure upon the piece of workinterposed betweenthe work support andthe tool, Upon reference to Fig. 5 of the drawingsit will be observed that a work supporting member 1'70 is provided witha ball portion 1'72 having a convexly curved surface which fits into andrests upon a complementally curved concave surface furnished by a hubmember 1'74 integral with a spider member 1'76. The spider member 1'76is provided with sockets, two of which are shown at 1'78 in Fig. 5 ofthe drawings, and in each socket is a spring 180 the upper end of whichrests against a portion of the under surface of the table 1'70, thespring 180 being backed by a sleeve member 182 adjustable in saidsocket. Extending through the sleeve member 182 is a rod 184 secured tothe work support 170 and having a washer 186 and adjusting nuts 188 uponits lower end. As the parts are shown in Fig. 5, the work support 1'70is free to aline itself after the work is pressed against the tool 54since the springs 180 will readily yield to provide for such aliningmovement by the work support, it being possible through adjustment ofthe sleeves 182 to make the tension of thesprings 180 suitable to thecharacteristics of the work being treated. It is also possible throughadjustment of the nuts 188 to adjust the table or work support 170 andto hold it in such adjusted position. Upon inspection of Fig. 5 it willbe observed further that clearance is provided between the extension 190of the ball member 1'72 and the inner surface of the hub 1'74 wherebythe adjusting movements of the Work support 170 may take place withoutmeeting any obstruction in such movement. Other than as described theconstruction of the work support 1'70 with its circular work supportingmember 32 is the same as that disclosed in connection with the worksupport 10 in Figs. 1 and 4.

In the modifications in Fig. 6 of the drawings there is substituted inplace of the circular work supporting member 32 of Figs. 1, 4 and 5 apneumatic pad 200 for the purpose of presenting a central portion of thework first to the tool 54. It is to be understood that the pad may bedistended by properly arranged hydraulic means controlled substantiallyin the same manner as the pneumatic means about to be described.Conveniently the pad 200 is set in a recess in a central portion of awork supporting member 202, the said pad having an upper wall 204 whichis thinner than the lower wall of the pad so that substantially all ofthe expansion of the pad will be in an upward direction. Preferably alsothe pad 200 is held in place on the work support 202 by a plate 206secured to the work support 202. Passing through a lower portion of thework support 202 and through the plate 206 is a metal tube 208 to thelower end portion of which is secured a flexible tube 210 connected atits other end to a release valve 212. The release valve 212 is connectedto a stop or shut-off valve 214 and this in turn by a pipe to areduction valve 216 which is connected to a pipe 218 leading to a pumpor to any other suitable source of supply of air under pressure. Whenthe work support 202 is in its lower or work receiving position the pad200 is inflated since in this position of the work support 202 the stopvalve 214 is open, being held in such open position by a lever 220pivoted at 222 to a stationary bracket and by a link 224 to' the underside of the work support 202, the construction and arrangement beingsuch that a portion 226 of the valve 214 is depressed by the lever 220.In this position of the work support 202 and of the valve stem 226, thevalve 214 permits passage of airunder pressure to the pad 200.

support it) continues its upward movement.

As the work support 202 rises under pressure of a treadle lever 228, thevalve stem 226 is permitted to move upwardly in time to close thepassage from the source of air under pressure. At the time thatthe'table or work support 202 starts moving upwardly, the release valve212 is inoperative whereby air is retained under pressure within the pad200 until at a predetermined point in the upward movement of the worksupport 202 release of pressure within the pad 200 is begun throughtension exerted on a chain 230 attached to the lower surface of thetable or work support 202 and to a lever 232 which controls the releasevalve 212, the arrangement being such that as the table 202 continuesits upward movement the pad 200 is gradually-deflated until the uppersurface of the pad in its collapsed condition rests in the same plane asthat of the rest of the work support or table 202. The function of thereduction valve 216 is to determine the pressure within the pad 200, itbeing possible for instance to have a pressure in the pad of eight orten pounds to the square inch where the pressure in the pipe may be aslarge as forty pounds. It will be clear from the foregoing descriptionof the pad mechanism that a central portion of the work will bepresented first to the tool54 by the inflated pad 200 during upwardmovement of the work support 202 and that'continued upward movement ofthe work support 202 will result in deflation of the pad carried outgradually so that operation on the work spreads laterally duringcontinued movement of the work support 202 until all portions of thework are presented to the tool. Furthermore, upon return of the worksupport 202 to its lower or work receiving position, the valves 212 and214 will be operated to permit inflation of the pad 200 as a preliminaryto a succeeding work treatin operation. Conveniently, the release valve212 is also a safety valve since it will be so constructed as to permitescape of air should the pressure within the pad rise above apredetermined limit.

In operating the machine herein described, a piece of work, such as 9.hide or skin 51, is placed upon a portable work support 240 made of asuitable flexible material such as a sheet of rubber or linoleum. It isdesirable that the hide or skin be spread out upon the portable worksupport in the manner and to the extent that pieces or work areordinarily spread out upon work supports preliminarily to treatment inmachine operations. After the piece of work has been introduced into theposition shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings, the treadle i6 is depressed bythe operator, thus moving the work support 10 upwardly toward thespirally arranged blade 54. Since the circular member 32 is normallyprojected upwardly from the general level of the work support 10 it willpresent the central portion of the work first to the blade which at thetime is being driven by the means heretofore described. On continuedupward movement of the work support 10 the spring 40 is compressed, thecircular member 32 remaining stationary while the surrounding work Itfollows that the central portion of the work is pressed more firmlyagainst the tool than portions further from the center line 76. Asbefore stated, the extent of this additional pressure exerted by thespring 40 can readily be predetermined through adjustment of the sleeve38.

There are distinct advantages in this arrangement by which the centralportion of the work receives slightly greater pressure during itstreatment. Since the bladed tool in its central portion is traveling ata much slower speed of rotation than those portions of the same spiralblade nearer the per phery of the disk 52, the additional pressure onthe central portion of the work tends to comp nsate for the greaterspeed of the treatment on the peripheral portions of the work. Furthemore, it is desirable to exert greater over the middle portions of ahide or skin during putting-out operations, for the middle portions of ahide or skin are usually of a closer fiber and hence are somewhat denserand heavier than the lateral portions of the hide or skin such as theflanks and shanks which, in the great majority of cases, are looserfibered and of greater stretching quality than the denser, firmerportions at and near the central portion of the same hide or skin. Aftertreatment for the desired length of time, the work support is loweredand a fresh piece of work on its own portable work support is introducedand the machine operated as before.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a machine for operating upon hides, skins, leather and othersimilar pieces of work, a support for a piece of work, and means foroperating upon the piece of work comprising a member in a spiral formextending on opposite sides of its axis of rotation, the operative edgeof said spirally formed member being in a single plane, and means forrelatively rotating said member and said Work support to efiecttreatment of the work.

2. In a machine for operating upon hides, skins, leather and othersimilar pieces of work, a support for a piece of work, means foroperating upon the piece of work comprising a spirally formed memberarranged to be rotated about an axis extending at an angle to the planeof said spirally formed member and to ext nd on opposite sides of saidaxis, and means to support said spirally formed member in a positioneccentric with respect to said axis.

3. in a machine for operating upon hides, skins, leather and othersimilar pieces of work, a support for a piece of work, and a tool foroperating upon the piece of work comprising a disk provided with aspirally formed member having a plurality of turns and the workcontacting portions of said member all in one plane.

4. In a machine for operating upon hides, skins, leather and othersimilar pieces of work, a sup port for a piece of work, a spirallyformed tool having a substantially complete turn about its axis ofrotation and its operative edge portion in a single plane, and means forcausing relative movement between the tool and the work support to treatthe piece of work.

5. In a machine for operating upon hides, skins, leather and othersimilar pieces of work, a support for a piece of work, and a spirallyformed tool constructed and arranged to extend in a continuous lineencircling the axis of the spiral from its beginning at a point closelyadjacent to said axis of the spiral.

6. In a machine for operating upon hides, skins, leather and othersimilar pieces of work, a support for a piece of work, a tool foroperating upon formed member, said spirally formed 3 member beingpositioned eccentrically with respect to the axis of said shaft with itscenter closely adjacent to the center of said shaft.

7. In a machine for operating upon hides, skins, leather and oth 1similar pieces of work, a sup port for a piece of work, a tool foroperating upon the piece of work comprising a disk having a spirallyformed member secured thereto, a shaft secured to the disk, power meansfor moving the shaft and disk bodil in a circle, said power means beingconstructed and arranged to move the tool continuously during operationof the machine, and power means constructed and arranged to rotate saidshaft simultaneously with its movement in said circle whereby thespirally formed member is caused to operate on the work through theeffect produced by the simultaneous movements of rotation and oftranslation of the tool with respect to the piece of work on the worksupport. I

8. In a machine for operating upon hides, skins, leather and othersimilar pieces of work, a tool for operating upon a piece of workcomprising a disk having a spirally formed member secured thereto, ashaft secured to the disk, means arranged to move the shaft and the diskbodily in a circle and at a predeterninled speed, and means arranged torotate said shaft on its axis simultaneously with its bodily movementand in a direction the reverse of that of its said bodily movement,whereby the tendency to displacement of the work by the tool dv itsrotation is offset by said bodily movement of the tool in a directionreverse to that of its rotation.

9. In a machine for operating hides, skins, leather and'other similarpieces of work, a tool for operating upon the piece of work comprising adisk having a spirally formed member secured thereto, a shaft secured tothe disk, means arranged to move the shaft and the disk bodily in acircle and at a predetermined speed, and means arranged to rotate saidshaft simultaneously with its bodily movement and in a direction thereverse of that of its said bodily movement and at a higher rate ofspeed.

10. In a machine for operating upon hides, skins, leather and othersimilar pieces of work, a support for a piece of work, means foroperating upon the piece of work comprising a disk having a spirallyformed member secured ther to, a shaft secured to the disk eccentricallywith respect to said spirally formed member, means for moving said shaftand said disk bodily in a circular path, and means for rotating saidshaft during its movement in said circular path;

11. In a machine for operating upon hides, skins, leather and other silar pieces of work, a support for a piece of work, means for operat ingupon the piece of work comprising a disk having a spirally formed membersecured thereto, a shaft secured to the disk eccentrically with respectto said spirally formed member, means for moving said shaft and saiddisk bodily in a circular path, and means for rotating the shaft duringits movement in said circular path and in a direction the reverse ofthat of its movement in said circular path.

12.111 a machine for operating upon hides, skins, leather and othersimilar pieces of work, a support for a piece of work, means foroperating upon the piece of work comprising a disk having a spirallyformed member secured thereto, a shaft secured to the disk eccentricallywith respect to said spirally formed member, means for moving said shaftand said disk bodily in a cir-' cular path, a shaft arranged in linewith the axis of said disk and stationary in space, and connectionsbetween the last-mentioned shaft and said circularly movable shaft bywhich the latter is driven from the former.

13. In a machine for operating upon hides, skins, leather and othersimilar pieces of work, a support for a piece of work, means foroperating upon the piece of work comprising a disk having a spirallyformed member secured thereto, a shaft secured to the disk eccentricallywith respect to said spirally formed member, means for moving said shaftand said disk bodily in a circular path, a rotary shaft stationary inspace, and a universal joint connection between said last mentionedshaft and the circularly movable shaft for rotating the latter from theformer.

14.11: a machine for operating upon hides, skins, leather and othersimilar pieces of work, a tool for operat a piece of work, meanscomprising wor support for supporting the work against the tin ,st ofthe tool, said work support having a part p'rojectable above theadjacent surface of the wed; support, and means for moving tr e workport to cause said proiectable part to pre ent a portion of the workinitially to the work tool, said work support becoming ope: its movementto present other portions of the work to said tool.

15. In a machine for operating upon hides, skins, leather and othersimilar pieces of work, a tool 5 -r operating upon a piece of work,means comprising a member for supporting the work against the thr of thetool, means to cause relative approach movement between the tool andsaid member to press the work against the tool,

work supper g member having a part projectable toward the tool, and aspring arranged to support said pr jectable part in position to presenta portion of work to the toolprior to other portions of the workrestingupon the of the work supporting member.

16.111 a machine for operating upon hides, skins, leather and othersimilar pieces of work, a tool for operating upon a piece of work, andmeans comprising a member for supporting the piece of work against thethrust of the tool, me s to cause relative approaching movement bet onthe tool and said member to press the work against the tool, said worksupporting niemher having means ior pressing a portion of the workagainst the tool prior to the presentation of those 'aortions of thework supported directly by said work supporting member.

17. In a machine for operating upon hides,

skins, leather ad other similar pieces of work, a tool for op g upon thework, means com prising a member for suppor ting the piece of workagainst the thrust of the tool, means to cause relative approachingmovement between the tool and said member to press the work against thetool, said work supporting member having its central portion cut away,and an auxiliary work support located in said cutaway portion ofthe worksupporting member and projectable above level of the work supportingsurface of said said work supporting member having its central portioncut away, an auxiliary work support located in said cutaway portion ofthe work supporting surface of said work supporting member and arrangedto press a portion of the .work against said tool prior to thepresentation or" the firstmentioned portions of the work by said worksupporting member, and spring means arranged to support said auxiliarywork support yieldingly in a position above the surrounding worksupporting member, said spring means yielding to permit retraction ofthe auxiliary support through pressure of the tool upon the work untilit finally presents its work suppor ing surface in the same plane as thework supporting surface of said work supporting m mber.

19. In a machine for operating upon hides, skins, leather and othersimilar pieces of work, a tool for operating upon a piece of workcomprising a spirally formed member having work treating parts all inone plane, a work support, and. means to cause relative approachingmovement of the tool and work support to present the piece of work tothe thrust of said tool, said support having a part projectable abovethe surface: of the work support to present to said tool a portion ofthe work in advance of other portions. thereof backed by the remainingpart of the work support.

20. In a machine for operating upon hides, skins, leather and othersimilar pi ces of work, a tool for operating upon a piece of workcomprising a disk having secured to one face thereof a spirally formedmember having its work treating parts all in one plane, a work support,and means to cause relative approaching movement of the tool and worksupport to present the piece of work to the thrust of the tool, saidwork support having means located at its center and arranged to press'aportion of the piece of work against a central part of the spirallyformed work treating member to cause treatment of said portion of thework prior to other portions of the work which are later presented bythe work supporting surface of the work support.

21. In a machine for operating upon hides, skins, leather and othersimilar pieces of worz, a tool for operating on a piece of woncomprisinga disk and a spirally formed work treating member secured to one surfaceof said disk, a work support, and means to ca .se relative approach ingmovement between the tool and the work support to present the piece ofwork to the thrust of said vork treating member, said work support beingsubstantially of the same size as said disk and having a centrallylocated member arranged to press a central portion of the piece of workagainst a central part of the spirally formed work treating member tocause treatment of said central portion of the work before th remainingportions which are subsequently treated when pressed against thespirally formed work treating member by said work support.

22. In a machine for operating upon hides, skins, leather and othersimilar see of work, a tool for operating upon apiece of work, meanscomprising a work support for supporting the work against the thrust ofthe tool, means to cause relative approaching movement between the tooland said work support to press the work against the tool, said worksupport having a plane surface and also apart projectable above theplane surface to present a portion of the work initially to the worktreating tool, and means for latching said projectable part in aposition wherein its work supporting surface is in the plane of the worksupporting surface of the remainder of the work support.

23. In a machine for operating upon hides, skins, leather and othersimilar pieces of work, a tool for operating upon a piece of work, meanscomprising a member for supporting the work against the thrust of thetool, means to cause relative approaching movement between the tool andsaid member to press the work against the tool, said work supportingmember having a part projectable toward the tool to present a portion ofthe work to the tool prior to other portions of the work resting uponthe remainder of the work support, and means controlled by the Worksupport for retracting said projectable part relatively to the remaind rof the work support.

24. In a machine for operating upon hides,

. skins, leather and other similar pieces of work,

a tool for operating upon the work, means comprising a member forsupporting the piece of work against the thrust of the tool, means tocause relative approaching movement between the tool and member to pressthe work against the tool, said work supporting member having means forpressing a portion of the work against the tool prior to thepresentation of those portions of the work supported directly by saidwork supporting member, and means for rendering said pressing meansinoperative.

25. In a machine for operating upon hides, skins, leather and othersimilar pieces of work, a tool for operating upon a piece of workcomprising a disk and a spirally formed work-treating member secured tosaid disk, a work support for supporting the piece of work against thethrust of the tool, means to cause relative approaching movement betweenthe tool and work support to press the work against the tool, said worksupport having substantially at its center a member projectable beyondthe work supporting surface of the work support to present the centralportion of the work list to the spirally formed work treating member,spring means for supporting the pro'ectable work presenting member, andmeans operable during the operation of the machine for rendering saidspring means inoperable to support said projectable member.

26. In a machine for operating upon hides,

skins, leather and other similar pieces of work,

a tool for operating upon the work, means comprising a member forsupporting the piece of work against the thrust of the tool, means tocause relative approaching movement between the tool and said member topress the work against the tool, said work supporting member having itscentral portion cut away, an auxiliary work support located in saidcutaway portion of the work supporting member and projectable above thelevel of the work supporting surface of said work supporting member topress a portion of the work against said tool prior to the presentationof other portions of the work by said work supporting member, and meansfor retracting said auxiliary work support relatively to the worksupporting member at a predetermined time in the upward. movement of thelatter.

27. In a machine for operating upon hides, skins, leather and othersimilar pieces of work, a tool for operating upon the work, meanscomprising a member for supporting the piece of work against the thrustof the tool, means to cause relative approaching movement between thetool and said member to press the work against the tool, said worksupporting member having are Cgr

L'", up

its central portion cut away, an auxiliary work support located in saidcutaway portion of the work supporting surface of said work supportingmember to press a portion of the work against said tool prior to thepresentation of other porions of the work by said work supportingmember, spring means for backing said auxiliary work support so that itmay be retracted throu h pressure of the tool upon the work until itfinally presents its work supporting surface in the same plane as thework supporting surface of said work support, and means comprising astationary abutment and an abutment movable with the auxiliary worksupport for retracting the latter relatively to the work supportingmember at a predetermined point in the upper movement of the latter.

, 28. In a machine for operating upon hides, leather and other similarpieces of work, a tool for operating upon a piece of work comprising adisk having secured to one face thereof a spirally formed member havingits work treating portions all in one plane, a work support for supporting the piece of work against the thrust of the tool, means to causerelative approaching movement between the tool and work support to pressthe work against the tool, said work support having substantially at itscenter a member projectable beyond the work supporting surface of thework support to present the central portion of the work first to thespirally formed work treating member, spring means for supporting theprojectable work supporting member, and latching means operable duringthe operation of the machine for rendering said spring means inoperableto support said projectable member.

29. In a machine for operating upon hides, skins, leather and othersimilar pieces of work, a tool for operating on a piece of workcomprising a disk and a spirally formed work treating member secured toone surface of said disk, a work support for supporting the piece ofwork against the thrust of said work treating member, means to causerelative approaching movement between the tool and work support to pressthe work against the tool, said work support having a mem ber arrangedto press a central portion of the piece of work against a centralportion of the spirally formed work treating member to cause treatmentof said central portion of the work prior to other portions thereof,spring means for supporting said pressing member in its pressingposition, means for retracting said pressing mem ber against thepressure of said spring means,

' and means for latching said pressing member in said retractedposition.

30. In a machine for operating upon hides, skins, leather and othersimilar pieces of work, a tool for operating on a piece of workcomprising a disk and a spirally formed work treating mem ber secured toone surface of said disk, a work support for supporting the piece ofwork against the thrust of said work treating member, means to causerelative approaching movement between the tool and work support to pressthe work against the tool, said work support having a member arranged topress a central portion of the piece of work against a central portionof the 1 spirally formed work treating member to cause treatment of saidcentral portion of the work prior to other portions thereof, a springfor supporting said pressing member in its pressing position, meanscomprising a stationary abutment for retracting said pressing memberrelatively to said work support, and a latch for holding said pressingmember in said retracted position.

31. In a machine for operating upon hides, skins, leather and othersimilar pieces of work, a tool for operating upon a piece of workcomprising a disk, a spirally formed work treating member secured tosaid disk, and a work support for supporting the piece of work againstthe thrust of the tool, said work support having a distensible padadapted, when distended, to present a portion of the piece of work tothework treating member and, when collapsed, to present a surface in thesame plane with the rest of the work supporting surface of the worksupport.

32. In a machine for operating upon hides, skins, leather and othersimilar pieces of work, a tool for operating upon a piece of workcomprising a disk, a spirally formed work treating member secured tosaid disk, a work support for supporting the piece of work against thethrust of the tool, said work support having a distensible pad adapted,when distended, to present a portion of the piece of work to the worktreating member and, when collapsed, to present a surface in the sameplane with the rest of the work supporting surface of the work support,and means for distending the distensible pad and for collapsing the samein timed relation to relative movement between the work support and thework treating tool.

33. In a machine for operating upon hides, skins, leather and othersimilar pieces of work, a tool for operating upon a piece of workcomprising a disk, a spirally formed work treating member secured tosaid disk, and a work support for supporting the piece of work againstthe thrust of the tool, said work support having an inflatable padadapted, when inflated, to present a portion of the piece of work to thework treating member and, when collapsed, to present a surface in thesame plane with the rest of the work supporting surface of the worksupport.

84. In a machine for operating upon hides, skins, leather and othersimilar pieces of work, a tool for operating upon a piece of workcomprising a disk, a spirally formed work treating member secured tosaid disk, a work support for supporting the piece of work against thethrust of the tool, said work support having an inflatable pad adapted,when inflated, to present a portion I of the piece of work to the worktreating member and, when collapsed, to present a surface in the sameplane with the rest of the work supporting surface of the work support,and means for distending the inflatable pad and for collapsing the samein timed relation to relative movement between the work support and thework treating tool.

35. In a machine for operating upon hides,

skins, leather and other similar pieces of work,

a tool for operating upon a piece of work comprising a disk havingsecured to one face thereof a spirally formed member having its worktreating portions all in one plane, a work support for supporting thepiece of work against the thrust of the tool, said work support having adistensible pad adapted, when distended, to present a portion of thepiece of work to the work treating member and, when collapsed, topresent a surface in the same plane with the rest of the work supportingsurface of the work support, and

means controlled by relative movement between the work support and thetool for timing the dis tention and the collapsing of the pad.

36. In a machine for operating upon hides,

skins, leather and other similar pieces of work, a tool for operatingupon a piece of work comprising a disk having secured to one facethereof a spirally formed member having its work treating portions allin one plane, a work support for supporting the piece of work againstthe thrust of the tool, said work support having a distensible padadapted, when distended, to present a portion of the piece of work tothe work treating member and, when collapsed, to present a surface inthe same plane with the rest of the work supporting surface of the worksupport, means for distending the distensible pad, and means comprisinga release valve for collapsing the pad in timed relation to relativemovement between the work support and the work treating tool.

37. In a machine for operating upon hides, skins, leather and othersimilar pieces of work, a tool for operating upon a piece of workcomprising a disk having secured to one face thereof a spirally formedmember having its work treating portions all in one plane, a worksupport for supporting the piece of work against the thrust of the tool,said work support having an inflatable pad adapted, when inflated, topresent a portion of the piece of work to the work treating member and,when collapsed, to present a surface in the same plane with the rest ofthe work supporting surface of the work support, means for inflating thepad comprising a shut-off valve, means for releasing the air in the padcomprising a release valve, and means for controlling said valves intimed relation to relative movement between the work support and thework treating tool.

38. In a machine for operating upon hides, skins, leather and othersimilar pieces of work, a tool for operating upon a piece of workcomprising a disk having secured to one face thereof a spirally formedmember having its work treating portions all in one plane, a movablework support for supporting the piece of work against the thrust of thetool, said work support having an inflatable pad adapted, whendistended, to present a portion of the piece of work to the worktreating member and, when collapsed, to present a surface in the sameplane with the rest of the work supporting surface of the work support,means for inflating the inflatable pad, means for collapsing the pad intimed relation to relative movement between the work support and thework treating tool, said last-mentioned means comprising a releasevalve, and a lever for controlling said valve and having a connectionwith the movable work support to be operated thereby.

JOHN H. CONNOR.

